Colorado – –(Ammoland.com)- According to recent polls, twenty-three percent of females now own a gun – up from thirteen percent in 2005.

However, plenty of women are still fearful of this powerful weapon. Ann Csincsak, ‘The Bachelor’ Season 13 contestant and wife of ‘The Bachelorette’ season 4 winner Jesse Csincsak, knows this feeling all too well.

“I grew up in a ‘no gun home,’” Ann says. “We strongly believed in the right to own firearms but never did so ourselves. Until my late twenties, I had never even touched a gun.”

This all changed when the couple faced a string of robberies in their neighborhood. Ann and Jesse agreed that with a sixteen-month-old son at home, it was time to decide how they would best defend their family but the happy couple disagreed about keeping a gun in their home. That was until they met up with Rich Wyatt, owner of Gunsmoke and star of the Discovery Channel series ‘American Guns,’ who lives near the Csincsak’s in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Ann and Jesse opted to take Wyatt’s three-day self-defense course, which was filmed for the reality show.

As viewers will see on this week’s episode, Ann was hesitant about buying a pair of handguns when they arrived at Wyatt’s store. But, her hesitancy soon turned to confidence when she ended up with the fastest draw time in the class. Not only that, but despite her fear of guns, Ann even beat out Jesse in a shooting competition.

“Because of this experience, I now understand the importance of being able to protect yourself,” Ann says. “Women are more vulnerable to attacks, so you have to be prepared to take care of yourself and your children, no matter what the cost.”

Knowing how to handle a gun with confidence is a valuable skill to have, especially for single women who may live alone or be looking for love in today’s digital dating world. Of course, facing your fear is only the first step. To combat any uncertainty, Ann strongly recommends taking a gun education class.

“Carrying a gun or even just owning one will always make me a little uncomfortable, but the benefit of having one far outweighs the fear,” she says.

Watch ‘American Guns’ this Wednesday at 10 PM/9 PM CT on the Discovery Channel to see what happens when Ann and Jesse meet Rich and his family at Gunsmoke.